CHICAGO – They got a rare, clutch homer from Joey Gallo off a left-hander. They got plenty of offense from CJ Abrams and James Wood. Shoot, they even got three hits from Darren Baker.
So how did the Nationals still end up losing tonight’s series opener at Wrigley Field? Because Patrick Corbin endured through another subpar start, and the bullpen couldn’t stop the bleeding after that, with Robert Garcia ultimately the pitcher of record in a 7-6 loss to the Cubs that also saw Jacob Young depart with an apparent shoulder injury.
A much-needed big night at the plate from a lineup that struggled mightily this week against the Mets still wasn’t enough for the Nats, who have now dropped four in a row to begin their final road trip of the season.
Unlike their just-completed sweep at Citi Field, they produced more than enough offense tonight to win. But just like the last two nights, they gave up a boatload of runs, now 17 allowed in their last 24 innings.
"That was tough," Gallo said. "I thought we did a good job of battling. We took the lead, they took the lead, we took the lead back. It's just how baseball goes. It was a great game, but unfortunately we came out on the losing end."
After going 1-for-19 with runners in scoring position in New York, the Nationals had to be pleased with their early offense tonight. They took a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first, then added two more in the top of the third, delivering three clutch hits in rapid fashion.
Setting the tone was Abrams, who in his second game back from a shoulder impingement looked better than ever. Three innings in, he already had singled, doubled, stolen two bases and scored two runs.
"I had good rhythm," Abrams said. "I was on time for everything. And I swung at strikes tonight. Now, keep it going."
The first RBI came on an Andrés Chaparro single to right. The second came on a 111.4-mph double to left by Wood. And when José Tena notched yet another RBI single two batters later to score Wood, the Nationals had themselves a 3-1 lead, poised for a much-needed big night at the plate.
They did suffer a potentially significant injury in the second inning when Young was thrown out trying to steal second and jammed his left shoulder in the process. The rookie center fielder trudged off the field alongside a trainer, careful not to move his left arm too much.
"He said his shoulder kind of went numb on him," manager Davey Martinez said. "I just said we're going to take you out, get you checked out. I haven't heard from the trainers yet to see how he's doing, but I wanted him to get checked out."
With no other true outfielders on the roster, Martinez called for Gallo to take over right field, with Dylan Crews shifting to center. Gallo, though, didn’t even take the field until long after the rest of the team was ready to go in the bottom of the inning. Did he have to run all the way up to the visitors' clubhouse to get his outfielder’s glove? Not exactly.
"I was up here," said Gallo, who remarkably was playing the first game of his long career at Wrigley. "There's no bathrooms down there, so it took me a little bit to get down there. That's why there was a little delay there. You're always aware something could happen at any moment. But, yeah, it was a little surprise."
The Nationals also were playing without Luis García Jr., who sat out his second straight game with a sore right wrist. That opened the door for Baker to make his first career start, and the rookie second baseman made the most of the opportunity with three hits, including an RBI double, to improve to 5-for-8 as a big leaguer.
"It was really cool," said Baker who spent his formative years at Wrigley when his father, Dusty, managed the Cubs from 2003-06. "I started Little League here at Wells Park, right down the street. It was full circle. Pretty cool."
The Nats needed the offense, because Corbin was back to the lesser version of himself after a string of quality starts earlier this month. The left-hander was charged with five runs in only 4 1/3 innings, serving up a two-run homer to Seiya Suzuki in the third and letting the first three batters reach against him in the fifth before Martinez came to the mound looking for the ball.
Corbin retreated to the dugout with his head down, his ERA up to 5.58, his Nationals career scheduled to conclude one week from today with one final start against the Royals.
"I feel great physically," said Corbin, who has made at least 31 starts in each of his five full seasons in Washington, plus every scheduled start during the shortened 2020 campaign. "It's kind of just looking back at the last six years here. It's kind of gone pretty quick. Maybe the last one in D.C. We'll see. I'm excited to get to pitch one more time there and hopefully end on a good note and see what happens."
The Nats trailed 5-3 in the sixth when Gallo stepped to the plate with two on and two out. He proceeded to get a steady diet of fastballs over the plate from Drew Smyly, fouling off four of them. Then he finally got one on the inner-third and pounced on it, sending the ball soaring to right field for a clutch three-run homer, only his second off a lefty this season.
"You always feel more comfortable when you get to see more pitches," he said. "I just really was trying to compete in that at-bat. Obviously, he's a tough lefty. I was just able to keep fouling balls off until I was able to get one I could do something with."
As was the case with their early leads, though, this one didn’t hold up for long. Garcia entered out of the bullpen for the bottom of the seventh and proceeded to give up the tying and go-ahead runs via three singles and a run-scoring groundout to third, with Tena opting to throw to first instead of attempting an admittedly tougher throw to the plate.
"On that play, he's got to come home," Martinez said. "I looked back and thought he had an out. Plus the (baserunner) was running in the grass. He's got to throw the ball home there. You can't just give up the go-ahead run like that."
And that go-ahead run proved to be the winning run, the Nationals unable to rally over the final three innings, ultimately stranding two runners in scoring position in the ninth en route to their fourth straight loss.